1cak yao ming biography
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He altered shots even without jumping, snatched rebounds in traffic and flashed a soft touch from midrange. While all attempts are made to ensure the correctness and suitability of information under our control and to correct any errors brought to our attention, no representation or guarantee can be made as to the accessibility, correctness or suitability of information provided by any hyperlinked site or any other linked information accessed through the Basketball Hall of Fame website but not under its control.
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Yao Ming Biography
September 12, 1980 • Shanghai, China
Basketball player
Drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers, the seven-foot, three-inch player has been hailed as the next Yao Ming. In 2003 he returned home to play on the Chinese national team, and also hosted a multi-national telethon that raised money for SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) awareness and prevention. That same year, when he was in the ninth grade, he was signed to a contract with a Shanghai youth team.
They gain valuable competitive experience which makes them ready to play in the NBA.
Still, there is some criticism of the new face of the NBA, and hints that the new emphasis on foreign players may be a backlash against the "bad boy" reputation of some of its biggest stars, like Dennis Rodman, Charles Barkley, and Kobe Bryant.
Murphy, Michael.
When he reached the sixth grade he was taller than his mother, and three years later had reached his father's impressive height. As three-time MVP, Yao not only towered over rivals but also elevated teammates. The 2008 Olympics were significant for China, and Yao's participation symbolized the country's growing influence in global sports.
Yao Ming Announces Retirement from Professional Basketball
On July 20, 2011, Yao Ming announced his retirement from professional basketball at the age of 30.
In the NBA, only seven-foot, six-inch Shawn Bradley of the Dallas Mavericks is taller than Yao. In China, broadcasts of Rockets' games on television draw fourteen million viewers, and Yao is mobbed by fans whenever he returns. The increasing number of athletes from Europe, Africa, and now even Asia comes thanks to interest in the sport in faraway places.
Across these campaigns, his consistency, poise and sheer dominance became the defining image of the tournament.
Those triumphant runs were more than just victory laps.
Joined Rockets in 2002
Yao continued to play for the Sharks, where he earned about $20,000 a year, leading them to the CBA championship in 2002.
He was named tournament MVP in three straight editions: 2001, 2003 and 2005. Local sports officials took notice, and he was chosen to take part in a local sports school in Shanghai. However, the signs were already there. Follow his journey from early life and rise in the Chinese Basketball Association to becoming an NBA star with the Houston Rockets.
Talented players, both homegrown and imported, can join teams and turn professional when they are still in their teens. He was a veritable force of nature, a towering symbol of dominance, pride and potential. One of the reasons may have been his age: if a player has not come up through the college ranks, he must be twenty-two years old to play in the NBA when his rookie season kicks off.